Japan Sinks (Even) Lower on Gender Discrimination Report

Japan Sinks (Even) Lower on Gender Discrimination Report

Article excerpt

The gender gap yawns wide, despite Japan's female astronaut and
new antidiscrimination laws. The World Economic Forum recently
downgraded Japan three spots to 101st place on its latest gender
discrimination report.

Chie, a former saleswoman at a Japanese firm, remembers paying
her dues at the office. She put up with men who slapped women's
backsides. She donned a uniform and showed up the required 15
minutes early to brew coffee. Finally, after five years, she told
her boss she wanted to take over from two departing salesmen.

"At the next meeting, he said he was hiring two guys for the
jobs," recalls Chie, who did not want to use her full name. "I quit.
And then my boss asked me, 'Oh, were you serious?'

"I was the first and last person to take maternity leave at that
company," she adds.

Japanese companies have long had a reputation of being unfriendly
to women, especially mothers. That image was reinforced recently by
the World Economic Forum, which downgraded Japan in its Gender Gap
Report from 98th of 130 countries in 2008 to 101st out of 134
countries in 2009.

But on April 19, government and industry representatives set a
target of getting 55 percent of women to return to work after having
children. Also in April, Japan celebrated Exhibit A for that goal:
"mama astronaut" Naoko Yamazaki, who was part of a recent space
shuttle crew. And Japan's low birthrate, and the falling ratio of
workers to the aging, are prompting more companies to try to appeal
to women.

IN PICTURES: Top 10 developed countries where women make less
than men

IN PICTURES: Top 10 developed countries where women's pay comes
closest to men's pay

"Since the population started falling, and then the financial
crisis, companies are more conscious of hanging onto their best
workers, including the most talented women," says Miko Fukushima, a
mother of two who returned to work at a multinational finance-
related firm.

"At some of the biggest Japanese companies, benefits for women,
such as maternity leave and creche facilities, are better than at
many foreign firms," she says. "Most of the smaller firms, even some
bigger ones, have a long way to go, though."

Government figures show the situation has actually deteriorated
since the first legislation on workplace discrimination in 1985. …